SCoA Responds to This Week’s Announcement about the Migration Program – 22 March 2019

SCoA’s Interim CEO Andrew Cummings today spoke with senior officials from the Department of Home Affairs, following this week’s announcement by the Prime Minister that the cap on the number of permanent migrants would be dropped by approximately 30,000 people per year, and that there will be an increased focus on migration to regional areas.

In discussing the changes with Home Affairs officials, SCoA highlighted the following points:

Concern at the possible negative impact caused by linking migration numbers with overcrowding in our major cities, echoing concerns raised by FECCAearlier this week

The need to ensure that suitable infrastructure is in place to support regional settlement, including specialist settlement services

The need for well resourced planning and coordination to facilitate effective settlement, especially in regional areas

A focus on place-based approaches to regional settlement, recognising that a “one-size-fits-all” approach does not work

The Department of Home Affairs has releaseda paper which outlines in detail the proposed changes and the thinking behind them.